The hammer may come down on the Michigan Wolverines as fans await the the conclusion of the NCAA’s probe into the program over sign-stealing allegations. However, we shouldn’t expect an imminent punishment ahead of the 2024 season.
The Latest on Michigan Probe
This week, the NCAA punished former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh over recruiting violations that took place during the Covid dead period. The penalty effectively ban’s Harbaugh from coaching in the collegiate world until 2028. Not that it would matter, since he bolted from all the turmoil to coach the Los Angeles Chargers through 2029. As for the sign-stealing investigation, the NCAA will send a draft copy of a notice of allegations to Michigan.
How Will Michigan be Punished?
According to ESPN, “The sign-stealing case is still open and could take months to resolve. Multiple infractions cases in such a short time period could prompt the NCAA to treat Michigan as a repeat offender, opening the school up to harsher penalties in the sign-stealing case.”
Michigan’s new head coach, Sherrone Moore is also wrapped up in the investigation according to this draft, which was obtained by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Murphy. The investigation found that Moore deleted over 50 text messages with Connor Stalions, the former low-level Michigan staffer who was one of the main culprits behind the sign-stealing scandal.
As it stands right now, it seems like Michigan will receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist for multiple years of cheating.
“So, I would think Sherrone Moore faces a short suspension, if you look at the history of this stuff, at the maximum,” Thamel said. “To go through sort of the matrix of what could happen to Michigan in this, I don’t think they’re going to have any type of postseason ban. I don’t think, looking at history and looking at past precedent in this, there’s going to be any type of retroactive anything to what they’ve already won and accomplished.”
Will The Punishment Be Just?
None of these punishments will be severe enough in my opinion. There’s a narrative going around that the sign-stealing didn’t actually impact the result of games on gameday, which is simply crazy to believe. Here are the facts: Jim Harbaugh had a combined record of 69 wins and 24 losses in the seven seasons he coached at Michigan before hiring Connor Stalions. His seat was getting very hot. The Wolverines then go 40-3 after he was hired and win their first National Championship since 1997. Sure, other factors also led to rise of Michigan football, but I won’t act like this was some coincidence because I believe in cause and effect.
According to Pete Thamel, there were “58 instances of illegal in-person, off-campus scouting. It included 53 games, 13 opponents. In 2022, they scouted one single team seven different times.” It seems to me like Michigan’s plan worked rather perfectly, and the NCAA isn’t going to do anything to really stop it.
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